MIDDLETOWN - SUNY Orange’s cafeteria workers will be laid
off at the end of the spring semester, to be replaced by food-dispensing
machines.

In an email sent to students on Thursday, Vinnie
Cazzetta, executive director of the nonprofit Orange County Community College
Association, which runs the cafeterias, said the change comes after the
college’s food-service operations showed a deficit of more than $150,000 last
year, “continuing a trend of significant operations losses that has existed for
years.”

Cazzetta said nine full-time workers and three
part-timers will be laid off as part of the plan.

“By doing nothing we could have been out of business in
12 to 18 months. We would not have been able to make payroll,” Cazzetta said.

The College Association is a nonprofit that provides
auxiliary services to SUNY Orange. It has existed since the late 1950s and runs
the campus book store, food services and buys and manages real estate for
future campus development. The changes will go into effect in June.

The college currently has four food centers. The
Middletown campus has a cafeteria in the Shepard Student Center, a smaller and
newer cafe in the Rowley Center and a cafe at its bio-tech building. There’s
also a cafe in Kaplan Hall in Newburgh. Staff at all four will be laid off.

Some students, who began hearing rumors about the changes
this week, were not pleased. Many talked about the personal touch from staff
who recognize their faces everyday. Others just want fresh food.

Rebecca Walker, a 19-year-old student from Otisville, said
while food on campus was pricier than she liked, she enjoyed freshly made, warm
food. She said she had no way of eating off campus once she arrived.

“It’s accommodating, it’s convenient and the people who
work there are lovely,” Walker said. “It’s kind of awful to lose your job to a
machine.”

In recent months, the College Association’s board sought
proposals from providers that could handle oversight of food services with the
intent of keeping the traditional cafeteria setup that’s been around for
decades, Cazzetta said.

“But even with a change of management and anticipated
increases of nearly 30 percent in sales, those independent, outside firms projected
that losses would have remained in excess of $80,000 annually,” Cazzetta said.

The College Association is close to signing a contract
with a new vendor for the self-serve kiosks, Cazzetta said.

Cazzetta said for years food service had been a losing
proposition and had been underwritten by revenue from book sales. But in recent
years revenue from book sales had been undercut by entities like Barns &
Noble, Amazon and eBay. Tax forms representing the 2014-15 school year, the
most recent available, show food service was in the red by $150,297 while the
bookstore netted $186,595.

Paul Katz, a student from Bridgeville, said many students
knew the staff’s names by heart and, in turn, staff knew their favorite meals.
He didn’t like the food kiosk idea.

“It’s almost a convenient store on a wall,” Katz said.

Kaitlyn Mann, a 19-year-old student from Gardiner, said
those in charge should try to find some other way to save money without cutting
jobs.

Cazzetta said that telling his staff on Friday that they
were losing their jobs was one of the hardest things he’s had to do.

“The board and I are sympathetic to the fact that this
decision results in several longtime Association employees losing their jobs,”
Cazzetta said.

Jessica Melchick, who’s been a food staffer in the
Shepard Center for four years, said the staff cried when they heard about the
layoffs, but was also concerned that the college will be losing the personal of
touch of food “made with love.”

“I’m really upset for the students, it makes our day to
see the students,” Melchick said.

Nichole McClary, who began working in the Rowley Center
five months ago for about $12 an hour, said she loved the job. Looking for a
new job will change her plans to spend time with her 2-year-old, she said.

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